Stateways

StateWays - July/August 2017

StateWays is the only magazine exclusively covering the control state system within the beverage alcohol industry, with annual updates from liquor control commissions and alcohol control boards and yearly fiscal reporting from control jurisdictions

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StateWays | www.stateways.com | July/August 2017 32 READY-TO-DRINK | CATEGORY UPDATE brighter packaging, as the product gains popularity at night- clubs and other upscale on-premise accounts. "We wanted to make the packaging sexier for nightclubs," Bauer explains. "Peo- ple look at packaging and make assumptions about the alcohol inside. Every little detail matters." TECHNOLOGY HELPS Packaging obviously plays a critical role in marketing. It also al- lows alcohol to be sold off-premise in the fi rst place. Here, RTDs have benefi tted greatly from recent improvements in technology. Twisted Shotz stand out on the shelf for its unique split pack- aging that separates dairy creams from the alcohol. The two do not mix until the consumer peels off the lid and takes the shot. "The machine we use to make those shots costs $5 million and there are only three in the world," Ballew says. "There was only one in New Zealand [where the company is based] and we had to make modifi cations to it to resolve initial packaging issues. We couldn't have done any of this ten years ago." The result is a distinctive product, with dairy elements that re- main unusually fresh. "By splitting up the dairy side from the liquors, it gives our products an average shelf life of two years," Ballew says. "It takes some time just to get the product out to the consumers, so it's good not having to constantly worry about the dairy." The resealable, portable Tetra Pak technology used for Beso Del Sol and other premade mixed drinks was very limited as recently as "four-to-fi ve years ago," Levitan says. "There were only eight facilities that could work with this patented technol- ogy in the world, and none in Europe." Now there are "dozens and dozens" of facilities as the tech- nology expands. This signifi cantly decreases the logistical costs of creating products like Beso Del Sol sangria. "The prices are still expensive for the Tetra Pak, but not so much that you cannot make a profi t without charging a pre- mium for the packaging," Levitan says. Bauer of LIQS agrees. "The advent of technology and new tooling machinery has allowed many brands to get creative and think outside of the traditional 750-ml. packaging and offer por- table items that were not previously possible." SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING The RTD category has grown through shrewd use of social media and digital platforms. For the past two years Twisted Shotz has allowed fans to vote online for its newest fl avor release. Last year the winner was Washington Apple, whiskey with sour apple liqueur. This most recent winner was Pussy Cat, a mixture of watermelon with piña colada. "We have white-hot engagement with our community," Ballew says. "They identify with it through social media. We get a 9% engagement on social media, while most other spirit brands get about 1%." The brand urges its fans to post with the hashtags #twisted- shotz and #betterTwisted. In this way the fans of Twisted Shotz "are our ambassadors," Ballew says. The bulk of the brand's social-media efforts are on Insta- gram, Twitter and Pinterest. Twisted Shotz supports this at retail through aligned merchandising. Social media also allows for brands to "speak to consumers on a human level with real, genuine dialogue," says Bauer of LIQS, which focuses on Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook. • LEADING PREPARED COCKTAIL BRANDS, 2014-2016 (000 9-Liter Cases) % Change Brand Supplier 2014 2015 2016p 15/'16 Jose Cuervo RTD Proximo Spirits 905 945 1,050 11.1% JD Country Cocktails Brown-Forman Beverages 805 864 854 -1.2% Chi-Chi's Sazerac 376 393 398 1.3% Bacardi Party Bacardi USA 320 282 270 -4.3% Kahlua Drinks to Go Pernod Ricard USA 310 298 299 0.3% BuzzBallz BuzzBallz LLC 277 285 226 -20.7% Captain Morgan Prepared Cocktails Diageo 265 204 178 -12.7% 1800 Ultimate Margarita Proximo Spirits 255 283 297 4.9% Skinnygirl Beam Suntory 150 145 150 3.4% Malibu Prepared Cocktails Pernod Ricard USA 147 129 130 0.8% Total Leading Brands 3,810 3,828 3,852 0.6% Others 955 957 949 -0.8% Total Prepared Cocktails 4,765 4,785 4,801 0.3% (p) Preliminary. Source: The Beverage Information Group's 2017 Handbook Advance. For more data and analysis, visit www.BevInfoStore.com.

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